The Van Buren County Road Commission is reminding the public about its winter snow plowing policies as the weather gets colder. The road commission has released the following:
Michigan’s first snowflakes have already fallen, and before the county is feet-deep in snow, the Van Buren County Road Commission is sharing how it responds to winter storms:
1. Each winter snow event will be treated as an individual occurrence due to the unique characteristics of each event, such as depth or type of snow, temperature fluctuations, ice formation, etc.
2. Routine snow removal operations will begin on the affected areas of the County Primary Road network, as a first priority. These roads include Red Arrow Highway, Blue Star Highway, and all roads with the “County Road (CR)” designation. The affected areas of the Local Roads system (streets and avenues), and the affected roadways within subdivisions are given secondary priority.
3. Normal scheduled operations of the Van Buren County Road Commission occur within eight (8) hour days, Monday through Friday.
4. Weekend operations and/or overtime operations are authorized as follows:A. In the event of a snowfall in excess of four (4″) inches, the most critical locations on selected County Primary Roads will be covered, as conditions permit.
B. Unusual ice and/or wind conditions causing hazardous driving, or impassable conditions on the affected areas of the road system, as conditions permit.
C. In the event of a snowfall in excess of eight (8″) inches, authorization shall be extended to cover the Local Road system of the affected area(s), as conditions.
In all cases, minimum crew sizes will be utilized to cover the affected areas.
5. Every effort within the physical and financial resources of the Road Commission shall be made to keep the roads in a safe and reasonable condition for public travel.
The Van Buren County Road Commission has worked to serve Van Buren County residents and the motoring public by improving and maintaining county roads and bridges for over 100 years.
